IT is an acronym for what many people consider to be
the path to more money, a better career or land at the highest echelons
of the social circle. Judging by the existence of various round-the-
corner IT institutes in various localities of Karachi, demand for an IT
education seems to know of no limits. The abundance of institutes and
universities offering courses in the various disciplines of IT is often
used to assess Pakistan's relative strength in this area. However, we
fail to realize, it is the quality of education and not its quantity
that would actually determine Pakistan's place in the field of IT.

Information Technology (IT) refers to the various
means to facilitate the collection, transmittal and storage of
information. The most common means for information processing is the use
of computers. However, it would be a huge mistake to equate IT with
computer sciences. In fact, this mistake has often been made by some of
our IT gurus. The American Heritage Dictionary defines technology as,
"the application of science." Hence, an accountant managing
the ledger books is just involved with IT as a network engineer.
However, since a computer makes the processing of information rather
easier, IT has become linked to computers. This article discusses the
state of IT education in Pakistan and how we can improve our chances to
out-compete IT monsters like India and China.

Unfortunately, the state of IT education in Pakistan
is pathetic. The principle problem is the obsolete material that is
taught by most of the universities in Pakistan. Instead of a curriculum
that would prepare the students for the future, most of the courses fail
to adequately address the needs of even the present. A student pursuing
a computer science program is offered a preliminary course in the C
language. However, the days of C language are numbered and its scope is
quickly fading out. With the extreme penetration of Internet and use of
mobile devices, the curriculum should instead focus on technologies that
would enable production on such medium. Preferably, the curriculum
should include Java language as an introductory course followed by
courses in the .NET Framework.

However, this is not to say that the entire syllabus
is out of sync. Although, universities do offer courses that are in line
with the industry's demands, such courses are not industry or
business-oriented. Most of these advanced courses fail to impart the
analytical skills.

Just like the construction of a building is based on
a blueprint design, the construction of an information system and all
its components (including the software) also requires careful planning
and designing. The lack of adequate analysis and design skills has left
us far behind our neighboring IT giant, India. Most of the IT projects
outsourced to India are those that require analytical skills.
Unfortunately, the curriculum in Pakistan emphasizes more on the
programming side of things, rather than the design. It is not the
shortage of programmers but of people with analytical and design skills
that has slowed our growth. To fill this gap, universities must include
courses that can help the students build their analytical and conceptual
skills. Business administration courses can help, especially courses
related to finance and economics. This integration of business education
with computer science and engineering should be a priority for the
government and schools offering professional degrees.

The teaching methodology also deserves some remarks.
Teaching a course in the classroom and flipping through the PowerPoint
slides is a tactic that needs to be eliminated for good. Instead,
teachers should adopt creative ways to impart knowledge. Teachers need
to find ways to make the students learn by using the means that they
love; for example Internet chatting. Internet chatting is quite an
addiction worldwide. The technology also supports voice chatting and
video conferencing. Using Voice and Internet chat, students can easily
be taught communication skills, customer service skills, skills required
to run a call center, etc. All chatting is not bad and using MSN as a
teacher's aid would increase the students' interest, and consequently
the level of motivation, in the course.

With the advent of video conferencing, holding
classes over the Net has become a reality. Why not arrange for that
extra session on a Sunday over the Internet, rather than asking the
students to commute to the university. Since attendance is usually short
during these extra weekend sessions, distance learning might be just the
cure. Besides, making the students aware of video conferencing and chat
etiquette is just as important as teaching them conventional manners,
because professional careers would require the IT graduates to make the
most of these technologies.

This training to use the latest technologies is also
needed to tap into the outsourcing opportunities provided to South Asia
by the corporations of the West. According to a research conducted by
Gartner Group and IDC, about 80% of the IT-based projects would have
been outsourced by the year-end. Unfortunately, Pakistan is not part of
the statistics and is seldom the location of preference for any major
project. Although outsourcing has solutions to some of the most sought
after macroeconomic problems such as employment and poverty, the IT
curriculum in Pakistan remains oblivious of such global trends.

Another major problem lies in the editions of the
textbooks that are used. Most of the universities prefer to use outdated
editions even though revised editions are easily available in the
market. Most of us are aware of the exponential pace of technological
changes, yet the students still using editions published in the late
1990's. Although this situation holds true for many of the other
disciplines, it has greater consequences for students enrolled in a
technology-based curriculum. In fact, the very use of obsolete material
fades the purpose of IT — IT required information to be relevant and
timely.

Apart from the traditional classroom instruction, IT
education is also promoted through electronic media. The media, which is
most often credited with having the potential to mass educate and bring
about societal changes, has failed to bring about any substantial
changes or IT awareness amongst the masses. We cannot reasonably expect
the entire Pakistani population to benefit from any educational program
as long as the channels continue to use English as the medium of
broadcast.

The education system is quite unique from the IT
perspective. Information Technology education is actually a sub-system
of a system that also includes (besides schools) ISP's, Internet, VPN's,
and utilities such as the telecommunications (PTCL) and electrical (KESC
and WAPDA) agencies. We are all well aware of the problems experienced
while browsing the Internet. We have all faced poor bandwidth,
connection problems and disconnection. It is high time that the
government takes measurable efforts to revamp the infrastructure that is
so crucial in developing an information-based society. Without an
extreme overhaul of the facilities, the IT graduates cannot produce
substantial gains. The system must be changed. There is no way out.

First it was the Industrial Revolution now it is the
Information Technology Revolution. The way that information has
penetrated into all parts of our life and, inevitably, would continue to
do so is remarkable. A revolution brings about changes in a nation's
socioeconomic structure, which the IT seems to be doing. However,
instead of embracing it as a revolutionary force and implementing it in
all walks of life, IT has become akin to a fad for most of us. Fads come
and go while revolutions almost always bring about some positive change.
Introducing a radial change in our educational system is the only way to
bring about this positive change.